Method of producing solution containing cellulosic material



encoimtered Patented Mai-s13, 194s umrsn I sures PATENT err-ice wuss sun-non or raonucme sow-nos, OON- 'ramnm cmunosro ass-ream.

menses s. sum, Columbus, out, assignor to Batelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio No Drawing.

December so, 1941,

Application sei-unemm 8M (Cl. 106-203) Y solve cellulose, even in highlyconcentrated solllprocess, and the novel products obtained therefrom; all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed. n

In the production of fibers and other shaped tions of the base, but merelyswell it.

reithe purposes of this invention, it is desirable and generally necessary-to employ solutions of sulfonium bases which will dissolve at least per cent cellulose to form solutions capable of filtration. Examp'lesof suitable sulfonium bases of this typeare triethyl sulfonium hydroxide, methyl di-n-pr opyi sulfonium hydroxide, methyl ethyl n-butyl sulfonium hydroxide, methyl di-nbutyl sulfonium hydroxide, methyl di-isobutyl' 'sulfonlum hydroxide, ethyl di-n-butyl sulfonium hydroxide, and methyl di-n-amyl sulfonium hydroxide. An'example of a sulfoniumbase which articles of regenerated cellulose, the well-known it dissolves cellulose but gives solutions of hill! V1 viscose process has been widely usedheretofore.

However, this process has certain inherent disadvantages. For example, the preparation of the alkali cellulose, its same, the preparation-of the xanthate solution, and the. maturing of the xanthate solution are time-consuming steps, and require largeamounts of space for-their execution. Also, the carbon disulfide used in the pre'- paration of thexanthate solution is an evil smelling, volatile substance, and its use involves risk of fire and'explosion, as well as presenting a menace to the health of .those handling it. Fur-- thermore, after the viscose solution has been c esulated into fibers, it is necessary to give the fibers some special treatment to remove sulfur from them, since the-presence of sulfur isobiectionable in the finished yarn and other shaped articles.

It is an object achieved by the. present invention to provide an improved process for the production of shaped articles of regenerated cellulose, which does not involve the objectionable featuresirl the usual viscose process.

This is accomplished in accordance with this invention by' initially dissolving the cellulose or eellulosic material in a strong aqueous solution of i a sulfonium base. The solution is then filtered and deaerated, and extruded through a splnneret or other suitable orifice, into a coagulating bath,

' The h p coagulated cellulose article is' withcosity is di-ethyl methyl sulfonium hydroxide.

Examples of sulfonium bases which do not dissolve cellulose, but only swell it, are tri-methyl sulfonium hydroxide, and di-methyl t-butyl sulfonium hydroxide.

Generally, the sulfonium bases which are use;

fulfor thepurposes of this invention contain a total of at least 5 carbon atoms and at least two i of the hydro-carbon radicals attached to the sulfur atom each contain more than one carbon atom.

,In the process of this invention, the sulfonium' bases are employed in aqueous solution and there is, of course, a minimum concentration below which they are not eifective as solven'h'firwellF lose, This minimum varies with the dlfi'erent bases, but ingeneral, none '01 the bases is an 4 I effective solvent in concentrations below about 20 per cent by weight. Since it is desirable, from the economic standpoint, to use the lowest concentrations which give satisfactory results, I generally employ concentrations of sulfonium bases intherangefromflpercenttowpercent'by weight, and advantageously in the range from 32' percent to per cent by weight. Higher concentrations may be used if desired, however, and

drawn from the bath. and'washed orsubjected:

to'suitable after-treatments, may b desired- 1 have ioimd that strong aqueous solutions ofinany sulfonium bases of suitable composition will dissolve 10 per cent or more.-of cellulose and cellulosic materials, thus forming cellulbse soluwhich arefilterable. Certain other sulfonium buses will dissolve eellulose to some exmy invention is not'i'imited to the specific ranges mentioned.

Various methods of preparing are well-hnowmand the bases used in accordance with this inventionmaybe-prepared in any known manner..- 7

l0 trate useful embodiments of'the invention:

tent, butproduee solutions which-arehlghly- The follow examples, in .parts are parts by weight, unless otherwise s nuses,

sso parts otair-dry. bleached sulfite wood pulp were immersed in 4050 parts-of 21% eausticisoda' Wu an other w m M m t u solution for one hour at 20 C and thenpressed cellulose was completely dissolved and a syrupy liquid was formed. This solution was filtered through two layers of 60-mesh copper screen, two

. layers of 200-mesh-cpper screen, and finally through a iritted glass filter. The syrupy, transparent solution was then deaerated under reduced.

' pressure.

The cellulose solution was forced. under pres sure, through a conventional, candle filter, in which the filter medium was a 200-mesh copper screen, and extrudedthrough a 40-hole splnneret with orifice diameters oi 0.0045 inch. It was coagulated in a 20% sulfuric acid bath at a temperature of 60 C. The length of travelot theilbers under the vbath'wa's 18 inches, and their rate of travel was 40 feet per minute. The fibers were "stretched to 1.2 times their original length before being collected on aperiorated bobbin. The washing of the fibers was carried out by immersing the bobbins in various wash solutions and drawing the solutions through the fibers by means of auction. The above fibers were washed for V hour in 1% ammonia solution, 1 hour in distilled water and /2 hour-in dilute soap solution and drledin the air at wont-temperature.- The yam possessed a good luster, good tensile strength and.was soft and pliant. 7 V

Fibers were also prepared from the above solution by coagulation in a sulfuric acid bath at 60 6., all other conditions being the same. The yarn was similar to that produced in the stronger acid bath.

Example 2 60 parts of regenerated cellulose, prepared as in Example '1, were dissolved'in 1075 parts of.

2.4011 trl-ethyl sulfonium hydroxide solution. The solution was filtered; deaerated and spun as in Example 1.

130th and sulfuric acid coagulating baths at 60 0. gave yarn similar to that obtained in Example 1.

Example 3 Regenerated cellulose was prepared as in Ex ample 1 except that after the crumbing operation the alkali cellulose was spread thinly in glass trays and allowed to stand at 20 C. for 12 hours before it was regenerated.

100 parts of this-cellulose were dissolved in 1075 parts of 2.45N tri-ethyl sulfonium hydroxide solution. Good yarn was obtained irom this solution when-it wasex'truded into a 20% sulfuric acid solution at 60 C.

Example 4 acid and was maintained at 60 C. l

example 5 Regeneratedcellulose was prepared as in n:-

ample 3 except that the alkali cellulose was 75 asvnsoe allowed to age for 48 hours before it was regenerated'.

120 parts of this cellulose dissolved in 1075 parts of 2.30N di-n-butyl methyl hydroxide solution 5 gave a solution with a viscosity suitable for spinning. This solution was coagulated by means of a 20% sulfuric acid bath maintained at 60 C. to give good yarn.

Example 6 Regenerated cellulose was prepared as in Example 3 except that the alkali cellulose was aged, for 24 hours before regeneration.

100 parts of this cellulose were dissolved in 1075 parts of-2.30N di-n-butyl methyl sulionium hydroxide solution. A portion of this solution was coagulated in an aqueous bath containing 20% sulfuric acid and maintained at 40 C.

A second portion of this solution was coagulated in a spinning bath consisting of 20% suli'uric acid in a 1:1 by volume mixtureof methanol and water maintained at 60 C. 1

The yarns produced by both these baths were very much alike and similar to those obtained in Example 1.

Example 7 v, I

100 parts of regenerated cellulose, prepared as in Example 5, were. dissolved in lo'liparts 'oi 3o 2.30N di-n-butyl' methyl sulfonlu'mj hydroxide solution. This solution was coagulated' in an aqueous bath containing 222 g. of sodium sulfate,

00 g. of magnesium sulfate and 40 g. of zinc sulfate per liter and maintained at 65 C. Agood yarn was obtained.

Example 8 A cellulose solution made up as in Example 3 was coagulated inan aqueous bath containing 15% sulfuric acid and 33% tri-ethyl u fonium I sulfate maintained at C.- The yarn obtained was similar to that obtained in Example 3.

Example 9 v aerated and then spun. The coagulating bath as a 10% sulfuric acid solution maintained at C. Example 10 A solution of 120 :parts oi regenerated cellulose, which had been aged for 18 hours as alkali cellulose, in 1121 parts of a 2.45N tri-ethyl sulfonium hydroxide solution was prepared for spinning as described in Example 1.

bath consisting of a 15% aqueous. solution of oxalic acid maintained at 60 0.

Another portion of the above cellulose solution was coagulated in a bath consisting of a 10% aqueous solution of phosphoric acid maintained at 55 C. 4

The yarn obtained from both the above coasulating baths was similar to that obtained from the sulfuric acid baths.

The above examples illustrate the application of this invention to the spinning of continuous filaments from suli'onium base solutions of cellulose, but it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the invention can also be applied to the A portion of this solution was coagulated in a 4 production of staple-fibers. also. if the cellulose solution is extruded through a narrow slit into the coagulating bath, instead of through a spinneret as in the above examples, ribbons or -illms of regenerated cellulose can be produced. Other shapes can be produced by selecting suitable orifices. Thus, theinvention comprisesthe production of regenerated cellulosic materials in any desired form, andmay be applied to the production of'filarnenta; threads, yarn, ribbons, films, and sponges, rods, tubes and the like. a

the cellulose solution still has the power to dissolve more cellulose. However, fritted glass filter media or glass or wire cloths serve very well for The cellulosic-rnaterlal used as a starting material in this process may be derived from any of the common sources. of cellulose, such as cotton or wood pulp. Bleached or unbleached sulfite or sulfate wood pulp, bleached or unbleached cotton linters, regenerated cellulose suchas that obtained fromviscose or cuprammonium solutions,- regenerated alkali cellulose, hydrated or hydrocellulose, cellulose oxidation products and other modified celluloses may also be used. For the preparation. of fibers of good strength,

I prefer to'use a Qellulose containing initially a which are somewhat degraded give less viscose solutions when dissolved in solutions of sulfonium, bases than do the undegraded celluloses. There fore, in order to prepare cellulose solutions of high cellulose content and relatively low'viscosity, I- often find it advantageous to use a cellulose which has been partially degraded. For

- standpoint to provide for recovery of the sulfo-' high content of alpha cellulose. The celluloses the filtration of the cellulose solutions.

Many difierent types of coagulating baths are. satisfactory for use in this process. Thus, aque-. ous solutions of acids, inorganic salts, organic substances and mixtures ofthe samemay be used with good results. For example, anyof the coagulating baths known to theviscose industry may be p oyed.

However, it is desirable from the economic nium base from the-coagulating bath, and I prefer not to complicate the recovery of the base by introducing into the bath materials which cannot be easily and inexpensively renioved. I have found that the presence of relatively small amounts of certain cations, such as sodium, in a sulfonium base solution renders the solution less eifectiveas a cellulose solvent. Since the removal of sodium; potassium, and thelike from aqueous solutions is a difllcult and expensive procedure, it is advantageous not to add these ions to the coagulating bath. The presence of a considerableconcentration of sulfonium ions in the coagulating bath is advantageous, however, since it simplifies the recovery of sulfonium base.

economic reasons, it is generally advantageous to 1 use solutions containing as much cellulose as possible, and I prefer solutions containing 10% or more of cellulose by weight and having suitable viscositiesf. However, the process is not limited to the use of such solutions.

In addition to cellulose and-the degraded and modified celluloses previously mentioned, alkali soluble cellulose derivatives such'as hydroxyethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose, cellulose glycolic acid, etc., may be used in the practice of this inventlon. All such'substances are included in the term cellulosic material." For example, a hydroxyethylcellulose of a low degree of substitution may be dissolved in a sulfonium base and the solution used for the preparation of films or fibers in the same manner as cellulose.

The acids which are best adapted for use in the coagulating bath are those'which. are capable of forming metal salts'of low solubility in water.

Sulfuric, oxalic and phosphoric acids are especially'suited for use as coagulants, since they may easily be removed as the insoluble barium, calcium, strontium, or lead salts during the steps involved in recovering thesulfoniumbase'from thecoagulating medium. The amount of acid in the coagulating bath may be varied widely, since the concentration required to effect sufliciently' 1 0'rapid coagulation of the cellulose is dependent upon the strength of the acid, the length of travel and rate 'of travel of the fibers through the bath,

I and the temperature of thebath.

In the preparation of the solutions of cellulosic material used in the practice of this invention, no special precautions need to be taken to exclude air during themixing process. 'However, if it is desired to avoid the degradative eilects of oxygen on the cellulose solution, air may be excluded during the mixing and subsequent operations, or

these operations may be carried out in an inert atmosphere such as'nitrogen', hydrogen, etc. On

the other hand, if a certain amount of oxidative degradation is desired, controlled amounts of air or oxygen may be admitted to the solution.

The solutions may be maintained at ordinary temperatures or atdngher temperatures through- --out the process, but it is preferred to maintain the temperature of the cellulose solutions below 25 C. After the cellulosic material has been dissolved in the sulfonium base solution, it may be diluted Therecovery of the sulfonium base from the coagulating medium may be eil'ected by any convenient method. When acids such as sulfuric, phosphoric and the like are used as coagulants,

.it is convenient to neutralize the acid with calcium carbona or calcium hydroxide and filter oil the'insolub e calcium salt. This leaves a solution of a sulfonium salt, which maybe reconverted to the base, as by treatment with barium hydroxide. The sulfoniumbase may then be conce'ntrated by evaporation underreduced pressure,

and used again in the process.

The fibers and other shaped 'articles'produced from cellulose solutions in sulfonium bases may with more sulfonium base solution, with wate with aqueous solutions of other organic bases, or-

ganic' salts,.inorganic bases and salts,- or with an organic liquid. Many diilerent-organic liquids,

such as acetone, dioxan, ethylene diamine, aniline, iso-quinoline,- morpholine, pyridine, n-butyl Ordinary ceilulosic filter cloths are not suitable for use'in the filtration step in this process, since amine, benzyl amine and the like may be used.

be processed and collected according to any of the methods known to those skilled in the art. They "may be collected directly without being stretched,

or they may be-stretched, either under the coagulating bath or outside the bath, before being collected. The fibers may also be produced and finished by continuous processes. The fibers may be given any suitable finishing treatment, They may be bleached, lubricated, soaped, or treated with various waterproofing and flame-proofing substances. It is an advantage of this process that no desulfurizing step is necessary.

The description and examples hereinabove are I intended merelyas illustrations of useful em-' bodiments of the invention, and itis to be under stood that the invention is not limited thereto and that any variations which conformto the spirit of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. The method of producing a solution containing in excess of 5 per cent of cellulosic material and adapted for extrusion into a coagulating bath to form shaped articles of regenerated cellulose which consists in dissolving said cellulosic material in an essentially aqueous solution containing at least 27 per cent of a compound selected from the group consisting of triethyl sulfonium hydroxide, di-n-butyl methyl suli'onium hydroxide, and di-n-butyl ethyl sulfonium hydroxide.

2. The method of producing a solution containing in excess of 5 per cent of cellulosic material and adapted for extrusion into a coagulating bath to form shaped articles of regenerated cellulose which consists in dissolving said cellulosic material in an essentially aqueous solution containing at 1east.2'7 per cent of tri-ethyl sulfonium hydroxide.

3. The method of producing a solution containing in excess of 5 per cent of cellulosic material and adapted for extrusion into a coagulating bath to form shaped articles of regenerated cellulose which consists in dissolving said cellulosic material in an essentially aqueous solution containing at least 27 per cent of di-nbutyl methyl sulfonium hydroxide.

4. The method of producing a solution containing in excess of 5 per cent of cellulosic material and adapted for extrusion into a coagu lating bath to form shaped articles of regenerated cellulose which consists in dissolving said cellulosic material in an essentially aqueous solution containing at least 27 per cent of di-n-butyl ethyl sulfonium hydroxide.

5. The method of producing a solution conasrnsca taining in excess of 10 per cent oi celluloaic material and adapted for extrusion into a coagulating bath to form shaped articles of regenerated cellulose which consists in dissolving said cellulosic material, at a temperature below 25 C., in

cellulose which consists in dissolving said ccllulosic material, at a temperature below 25 0., in an essentially aqueous solution containing from 32 to 45 per cent of tri-ethyl sulfonium hydroxide. 7. The method of producing a solution containing in excess of 10 percent of cellulosic material and adapted for extrusion into a coagulating bath to form shaped articles of regenerated cellulose which consists in dissolving said cellulosic material, at a temperature below 25 C., in an essentially aqueous solution containing from 32 to 45 per cent of di-n-butyl methyl sulfonluin hydroxide. y

- 8. The method of producing a solution containing in excess of 10 per cent of cellulosic ma terial and adapted for extrusion into a mega-- lating bath to form shaped articles of regenerated cellulose which consists in dissolving. said cellulosic material, at a temperature below 25 0.. in an essentially aqueous solution containing from 32 to 45 per cent of di-n-butyl ethyl sulionium hydroxide.

RICHARD 8. 8111111. 

